Print Marketing

Direct mail is a $40 billion dollar industry that can trace its roots back to the good old Sears catalog, where you could buy anything from mules to tractors to strawberries and ice. We’ve come a long way since those days, but unfortunately most of the direct mail pieces you get today haven’t, which is one of the reasons conversion ratios are stuck in the .05%-2% range.

But you can make sure your next campaign brings home the bacon simply by building a better direct mail piece from the top down. So let’s get started at the top and talk about headlines first.

1. The headline – This is the billboard of the piece. This is what convinces the reader that the rest of the ad is worth reading so make sure to grab them with a compelling statement in your headline.

2. Art/Pictures/Graphics – Try to stay away from stock clip art, it’s pretty obvious. Besides, you should have plenty of photos to use from your completed jobs. Use positive images that are eye-catching for your target.

3. Layout – The layout should look like a mini billboard. Keep it clean and uncluttered with a text-to-whitespace ratio as close to 50% as possible. This will make it easy on the eyes of your reader and easier for them to absorb your primary message.

4. Onto the message – Keep this short and sweet. Make your benefits to the reader the focal point while making sure to be as clear and concise as possible. You should also play to your reader’s emotions since this brings in a higher response rate. [Read more…] about 7 Tips to Building Better Direct Mail for Contractors

Last week you guys got a post from me that had direct mail as the headline, then I talked about gobbling up your competition’s old domain names. Well, that is what happens when you shoot a bunch of videos all at once and you thought you were working on the right one. Well, today, I DO talk about direct mail for contractors, so enjoy! Can’t see the video, click here.

Post cards are a great way to turn passively engaged consumers into buyers by providing them with an irresistible offer right? Of course!

But they need to read it first!

So make your next direct mail piece easier to get read by sending out an over-sized mailer. Instead of the usual 4×6 postcard that gets overlooked, why not shoot for a 6×8 or larger piece?

Sending larger direct mail cards allows you to:

Say more – if you don’t say it, people assume you don’t do it.

Stand out – increase your chances of gaining a new client or customer by being the biggest thing they take out of their mailbox that day.

Big mail gets read – In fact, the bigger the piece, the better your chances are that your mail gets read first.

You can mail cheaper – I normally recommend that contractors send DM pieces First Class mail for regular 4×6 sized cards. It is a confidence factor that speaks volumes about your organization when the prospect is deciding on what to do with your piece. But bigger direct mail cards can’t go out regular First Class, but you can still send them cheaper since the implied perception is that they cost more (and they do) because they are bigger. Which means the information is more valuable to the reader. Remember, it is all psychological. So, the next time you do a mail drop; make sure you go big to get a better responses!